Discovered in a bunch of pending patent applications, this first one is called “Event-based modes for electronic devices.” What this basically does is allow your iPhone to automatically adjust its setting based on your location and “life events”. So, what exactly are these “life events”?

[via unwiredview]
More details after the break.

Based on the patent application, “life events” can be any one of the following:

any location-based event (e.g., the device entering or exiting a specific geographical location, such as a country, or a specific type of location, such as a movie theater, etc.), any environment-based event (e.g., the device being subjected to a specific physical orientation, movement, temperature, sound, light, etc.), any calendar-based event (e.g., the device reaching a specific time of day, day of week, date, etc.), any usage-based event (e.g., the device being used for a specific function, for a specific period of time, the device’s battery having less than half of its capacity remaining, etc.), any news-based event (e.g., the device receiving information about a particular worldly occurrence, such as a weather forecast, news report, or sport score, etc.), and combinations thereof.

Another pending patent is called “User-programmed automated communications.“ This feature allows your iPhone to perform an appropriate action based on a particular event, location, caller and other similar conditions. Say, for example, it’s your wife’s birthday. This new feature will allow your iPhone to automatically send an SMS to your wife greeting her on her special day.

Last, but certainly not the least, there’s also a “Systems and methods for intelligent and customizable communications between devices” that’s also waiting for patent approval. Simply put, these allow you to set up your iPhone to respond accordingly and differently to your various contacts depending on your current situation and availability.

As you can see, these new iPhone features is all about automation, but being that these are all just patent applications, there’s really no guarantee that these will make it into the real world. These do, however, give us an idea of what to expect, and based on what we’ve seen so far, it sure looks good. How about you guys? What do you make of these iPhone features waiting for patent approval?

Hot off the release of the iPhone 3.0 and iPhone 3G S, Apple has now made available iPhone OS 3.1 beta to developers. We’re still not quite sure what exciting new features this latest firmware will come with, but taking a cue from its name, it’s probably more a set of bug fixes with only a handful of new treats to spice up the package. We’ll report more on this once additional info is made available, but nonetheless, this is a sure sign that work on an iPhone 3.1 jailbreak/unlock should now finally commence.

Likewise, we’re still waiting on an iPhone 3G S jailbreak to the public. For those running iPhone 3.0 already, iPhone 3.0 jailbreak Pwnage tool and redsnow are already available for your jailbreaking needs as well as ultrasnow to unlock your iPhone.

[via engadget]

We’ve heard about the awesome treats loaded on the iPhone 3G S and its new fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coated body, but did you know that it also possesses some amphibious traits as well? This short video demonstrates how an iPhone 3G S managed to stay alive even after taking a brief dip into the swimming pool. We’re not exactly sure if there are any long term effects to this heart-stopping and jaw-dropping accident, but I guess there weren’t any immediate problems as they still got the chance to upload the video of this amazing yet horrific tale. Granted that this news of the iPhone 3G S being slightly water-proof is certainly good to hear, we wouldn’t suggest you go out and try this one out for yourself. Just enjoy the video and be thankful you’re not the clumsy dude who dropped his new iPhone 3G S into the pool.

[george ruiz via engadget]

Needless to say, worry-warts out there will have to probably wait for a newer version to be released before trying this one out on their Apple device. Nonetheless, if you’re brave enough to give this new jailbreak a go, then by all means, download redsnow from their blog now and don’t forget to hit us up in the comments section below as we’d love to hear how it turns out for you.

[via iphone dev-team blog]

Did you get a new iPhone 3G S from AT&T and is having a hard time activating it? Well, here’s a little consolation for all the trouble you’re getting with your brand new AT&T iPhone 3G S. Apple is giving away $30 worth of iTunes Store credit to compensate for the delayed activation of your newly acquired Apple mobile phone. They’ve sent out an email to affected buyers informing them of their plans. Qualified iPhone 3G S owners should receive an email from Apple on Monday telling that they now have $30 iTunes Store credit. Along the way, they more or less point the finger to AT&T as the culprit behind the failed activations. While we’re not exactly sure if AT&T is the only one to blame here, we at least applaud Apple for their prompt response to address the whole situation.

[via unwiredview]
A copy of the email is available after the break.

Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.

We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.

On Monday, you’ll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.

Thank you for choosing Apple.

Sincerely,

Apple Online Store Team

One of the more significant improvements in the iPhone 3G S is that it now supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity. Yeah, that’s quite fast even by today’s standards, but as everyone already knows (or should know), this is still network dependent. It’s either your carrier offers 7.2Mbps connectivity so you can take advantage of this speed or they don’t. It’s as simple as that. In the case of AT&T, they do have it in Chicago. However, putting the new high speed data connectivity of the iPhone 3G S to the test, it was discovered that the hyped improvements weren’t quite there yet. Upload and download speeds were certainly up, but not by much. Needless to say, you can’t take full advantage of the HSDPA connectivity of the iPhone 3G S on AT&T at the moment. So, if you’re one of those AT&T subscribers in Chicago who has been thinking of upgrading their iPhone 3G to the new iPhone 3G S for its 7.2Mbps connectivity, you can rest a little easy now as there’s little difference between the two as far as this feature is concerned.

[via engadget]

Anyway, everything still needs to be confirmed, but if true, we’ll finally see how the Apple iPhone can truly stack up against the iPhone clones in China. Hopefully, Unicom won’t suffer the same fate as the carriers in Russia.

[reuters via unwiredview]

They do post a few reminders before you proceed to jailbreak your newly updated iPhone. First, and most important of all, do not upgrade to iPhone 3.0 if you rely on yellowsnow. This iPhone 3.0 jailbreak does not include ultrasnow which is needed to unlock 3.0-running iPhones and neither is yellowsnow capable of doing so. Second, this current iPhone 3.0 jailbreak will not work with the iPhone 3G S. It is, however, compatible with the 1G iPhone, iPhone 3G, and 1G iPod Touch. So, if you’re more than ready to start jailbreaking anew, then start downloading the iPhone 3.0 jailbreak now (bittorrent files can be found at their blog).

[via iphone dev-team blog]

What’s even further testament to their dedication is that they’re actually guaranteed an iPhone 3G S already since they’ve pre-ordered one through the store. It’s all about the experience as disclosed by one of them in the video interview. What devoted followers the iPhone has. If these guys are gutsy enough to start queuing up for the iPhone 3G S this early, I wonder how long the lines will be tomorrow morning. How about you guys? If given the chance, will you also be willing to camp out a full 24-hours ahead of opening just to be one of the first iPhone 3G S owners in the country?

[via engadget]

[via engadget]